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TALLYGAROOPNA PRIMARY SCHOOL NO.3067

Victoria Street, Tallygaroopna

Phone 03 58298264 Fax 03 58298244 tallygaroopna.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au

Website - http://www.tally-ps-3067.vic.edu.au/ Mobile 0403625625 / 0411960164

SCHOOL VALUES – RESPECT, HONESTY & INCLUSION

NEWSLETTER TERM 2 NO.15 28th May 2012

Contents Welcome 1. After School Care 2. Beauty & The Beast 3. Young Leaders Day 4. Science Homework Task 5. Long Service Leave 6. School Production 7. Mathletics Parent Survey 8. School Council / Finance 9. Super Heroes Day 10. Prep Enrolments for 2013 11. Transition Program 12. Earn & Learn Vouchers 13. Coles Sport Program 14. AASC Program 15. Student of the Week 16. Term Dates Hi everyone, A huge thank you to all of the families who assisted with the Biggest Morning Tea last week. There was a lot of yummy food and the children were still eating some of this the next day on Friday. It is always great to see so many familiar and unfamiliar faces at events like this and your support is greatly appreciated. Tomorrow, the whole school is off to Dookie for our second cluster day of the year. This promises to be a great day, with the performance followed by the Tabloid Sports Activity. Let’s pray for some fine weather and no interruptions. A reminder that we have to leave at no later than 8.45am so that we get to see the start of the performance. The bus has been organised to arrive for pick ups 15 minutes earlier so please be ready for this. Also good luck to the Grade 6’s who may be attending Open Days at a variety of Secondary Schools over the next couple of days. This is an important part of transition and I encourage all families to look seriously at this opportunity. Our School Captains will also be attending a Young Leaders Conference at Wanganui SC on Wednesday which is very engaging and fun. Last Friday, I had a successful meeting with Renea Cruz from Stepping Stones regarding After School Care. As a result, we are hoping to provide this service immediately to parents starting in Term 3. Information is provided in this edition of the newsletter and Family Information Booklets and Enrolment Forms can be collected at our office. Stepping Stones will run the program and our school will only be responsible for transport to the After School Care venue. Karen will be in the office until Thursday this week, if any matters need addressing. I have a Sub Regional meeting in Shepparton tomorrow and unfortunately will miss out on all of the fun at Dookie. Have a great week everyone.

David Brodie – Teaching Principal

Enrolments for 2013 can now be

made. Tours of the school can be

requested as well.

Super Heroes Day

24 Sleeps to go !!!!!!

If you would like to receive this newsletter by email contact our office.

An alternative is to go to our school website.

Reminder: 15 Minute Early Bus Pick

Ups for the Cluster Day at Dookie on

Tuesday 29th May.

Issue 4 Book Club orders are due

back to school this Friday, 1st June.

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Biggest Morning Tea

A huge thank you to the many families who attended the Biggest Morning Tea on Thursday morning. This was very successful and the food was absolutely delicious. Thanks to the many families who brought along food to share and for

the parents who assisted on the day. We were able to raise $137 for cancer research – thanks everyone.

Tallygaroopna Primary School Recipe Books These can still be purchased from the School Office at $12 each.

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Science Specialist Program

Last week, our new Science Primary Connections Resource arrived at school. This kit complements the lessons which

are currently being taught each Wednesday with Mrs Thomas – our great Science Specialist. The new kit includes science equipment which is used to support teachers with the implementation of Primary Connections units and is

funded by our involvement in the program. The equipment is currently stored in the teacher’s resource room and will be utilised frequently at school.

1. After School Care Last Friday, I had a meeting with personnel from Stepping Stones, who help coordinate the After School Program. This was a successful meeting and our school will be accessing this service immediately for Term 3 and beyond. Information is provided below and the Tallygaroopna Pre School will also be informed so that potential new families can make an informed decision in regard to enrolments for 2013. Specific Information:

Family Information Booklets and Enrolment Forms are available at Tallygaroopna PS.

Services provided by Stepping Stones include Indoor and Outdoor Activities and Afternoon Tea

After School Care is available 5 days a week from 3pm until 6pm at St. Luke’s Primary School in Shepparton.

The cost for each session is $19.90 – this is before any child care rebate. This will be billed directly to parents by Stepping Stones.

Children will be transported to the venue by cab, leaving Tallygaroopna PS at 3.25pm and arriving at St. Luke’s at approximately 3.35pm.

Parents will also need to pay for transport to St. Luke’s. This will be organised by Tallygaroopna PS (a maxi cab) and the cost will be split depending on how many families use this service each day. Children will be met at St. Luke’s by Stepping Stones staff. Parents will be billed on a weekly basis by Tallygaroopna PS.

Bookings need to made through Stepping Stones.

Bookings for transport need to made through Tallygaroopna PS no later than 1pm each day.

Stepping Stones also run vacation care at Bourchier Street PS which is also available. 2. Beauty & The Beast – change of venue Tomorrow our whole school will be attending the Community Dookie Centre to see the performance of Beauty and the Beast - permission forms were sent out a couple of weeks ago. This starts at 9.15am, so our bus will be completing pickups in the morning, 15 minutes earlier than normal on this day. We aim to leave school at 8.45am sharp. Could parents make the relevant adjustments please. The cost for the day is $10 which covers travel by bus and the performance. Students will need to bring their own lunch (if they haven’t organised a lunch order), snack and drink. The performance will be held at the community centre and we will stay here for the duration of the whole day. A tabloid sports type activity will then follow before lunch and we hope to depart Dookie by 2pm. We anticipate arriving back at school by 2.45pm. Mrs Wallace and Mrs Brett will be attending this day. Unfortunately, Mr Brodie will be away at a Principals meeting.

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3. Young Leaders Day Corbie Humphrey and Shae Montgomery will represent our school at the Young Leaders Day at Wanganui Park Secondary College next Wednesday 30th May. Mr Brodie will take the students to and from the venue for the day and Mrs Montgomery will spend some time throughout the day with specific activities as well. Both students are in the process of completing a Pre-Conference Task on leadership and they will be assisted with some other peers at school with this. Permission forms went home last Friday and are due tomorrow. 4. Science Homework Task Last week, the children had a great Science session where they had to bring in 2 specimens (1 living and 1 non-living). The enthusiasm displayed by the children was fantastic and it was great to see that all of the children were able to complete their homework task. Special thanks to all the parents for their support with this. 5. Long Service Leave As stated previously, Mrs Haberfield began her long service leave today, for 2 weeks. We all wish her a restful time and know that the children in Grade 2/3/4 will enjoy their 2 weeks with Mrs Brett. Normal programs will continue to be implemented at school. 6. School Production Congratulations to the following students who have been successful with the following lead roles in our school production for 2012. This takes some time to coordinate and we thank all families for their patience with this. Keep working hard on those scripts everyone and we are expecting practice to increase towards the end of the term. Zardok – Kaleb Anna – Shae Nanna – Zailie Pete – Corbie Bramble – Abby Cooch – Teagan Queen – Olivia King – Daniel Basil – Harri Thrip – Ebony Scale – Brenton Dragon – Jamie Peasants – Connor, Marc, Cerrie 7. Mathletics Parent Survey One of the many computer programs we use at Tallygaroopna PS is Mathletics. This resource is a fantastic teaching tool and reinforces numerical skills and strategies in the classroom and at home. The coordinators of this program are seeking feedback on its use with a parent survey. All surveys are anonymous and the opportunity to complete these surveys expires on Wednesday 30 May 2012. Parent survey:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DEECDandMathleticsParentSurvey2012 8. School Council / Finance Our next School Council meeting and Finance Committee meeting will be on Wednesday 6th June. The Finance Committee will meet at 6.30pm followed by School Council at 7.30pm. Could any agenda items be in at the office by Friday 1st June. School Council Meetings are open to the school community - visitors or observers can be present at meetings with the agreement of the principal and a decision of council. There are times when the council meeting, or part of the meeting, needs to be closed though. 9. Super Heroes Day As per normal, we will be having a casual day during the last day of term. On Thursday 21st June, we will be having a Super Heroes Day which will be organised by JSC. Participation will involve just a gold coin donation. This will be a lot of fun and hopefully families have plenty of notice to prepare suitable costumes for the day. Munch N Crunch is held on this day as well so who knows we may get some parents involved as well. 10. Prep Enrolments for 2013 A couple of weeks ago, we put our enrolment banner out on the school fence again to promote our school and encourage enrolments for 2013. Currently our school is thriving with an enrolment of 53 students and we look forward to aiming to continually build on this over the next few years. Parents can enrol their children for 2013 now and request a tour of the school if needed. I look forward to discussing the many advantages of our small school. 11. Transition Program Transition booklets for Grade 6 students were sent home a couple of weeks ago. All dates regarding open nights and open days are included. It would be greatly appreciated if we could receive a 100% return of the placement forms by June 5th.

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12. Earn and Learn Vouchers We are excited to be taking part in the 2012 Woolworths Earn & Learn program. Last year, we were able to purchase some great resources with the points we earned, thanks to you. From Wednesday 9th May until July 1st 2012, you can collect stickers at Woolworths that go towards Earn & Learn points. For every $10 you spend at Woolworths (excluding the purchase of tobacco, liquor and gift cards), you will receive a sticker. These stickers can then be given to your children to collect on a special sticker card. Once it is completed, they can simply bring it back here to school or you can drop them into your local Woolworths collection box at the front of the store. The more points we earn, the more we can redeem from a choice of over 7,000 educational resources including mathematics and English resources, art & crafts materials and much, much more! We are grateful for your support and look forward to a successful program. If you have any questions, please ask. 13. Coles Sport for Schools Program We are excited to announce that the Coles Sports for Schools program is back, bigger and better in 2012. This year being made extra special due to the Olympics! Last year, our school was one of 7,500 schools who earned over $10.2 million worth of sports gear. This year you can collect vouchers from Coles from 13th June to 14th August and remember, the more vouchers we collect, the more sports gear our school will receive. 14. AASC Program The program for term 2 began a few weeks ago with Multi Sports on a Monday and Basketball on a Tuesday. Both sessions start at 3.35pm and finish at 4.35pm. Participating students will be given fruit for afternoon tea prior to the start of each session. Andrea Walker will be our school supervisor on Monday’s and Jill McFarlane will fulfil this role on a Tuesday. Special thanks for Gill O’Brien for filling in last Tuesday again. Last week’s free icy pole voucher went to Jessica Bassett. 15. Student of the Week Congratulations to the following students who received Student of the Week last week.

16. Term Dates Over the next few weeks, I will continue to update this section. Dates for TERM 2/3 are:

May 29th – Performance at Dookie PS May 30th – Young Leaders Day –Shae & Corbie June 6th – Finance & School Council 4 June 11th – Queen’s Birthday Holiday June 19th – Region Cross Country June 21st – Munch N Crunch – Super Heroes June 25th – Reports Sent Home June 25th – Information Technology Night – TBC June 26th – Dance Festival (Gr. 3-6) June 27th – Parent Teacher Interviews – Pupil Free June 29th – Last Day of Term 2 – dismissal at 2.25pm July 16th – Term 3 Begins July 18th – Parents Club Meeting July 26th – Christmas in July July 27th – Interschool Footy & Netball - July 27th – London Olympics Begin July 30th – Taekwondo Begins (AASC) July 31st – BMX Begins (AASC) - TBC August 1st – Finance & School Council 5 August 1st > 3rd – Grade 3/4 Camp Curumbene August 1st – Wanganui SC Performance – Fame August 20th – Book Fair August 20th – Subzero School Visit August 24th – Book Day at Katandra West PS September 2nd – Father’s Day September 5th – Finance & School Council 6 September 7th – School Disco September 8th – Community BBQ (Bunnings) September 10th >14th – Swimming Program September 19th – School Production September 21st – Last Day of Term 3

Term 2 – Week 6 P/1 – The Rock N Roll Kids – Nicholas Church for the persistence he shows in his handwriting and the confidence he displays in his reading. Well done Nicholas. 2/3/4 – Mrs H’s Brainy Bunch – Jordan O’Brien. Jordan is a very reliable student to have in the classroom. He always gives 100%, he is always polite and gets along with everyone very well. An awesome effort Jordan! 5/6 – The Grade 5/6 Rebels – Jamie Woodley for the improved effort that he shows in class and for his polite and courteous manner which is frequently on display. All students receive a certificate and a Nando Voucher.

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Tallygaroopna Auskick The Tallygaroopna Football Club is conducting an Auskick program at the Tallygaroopna Recreation Reserve commencing on Tuesday, 29th May at 4pm. You can pick up a registration form at the school Office which needs to be filled out and returned to the school by 15th May or you can register online. The cost of the ten week program will be $60, made payable to the Tallygaroopna Football/Netball Club. The Club will cover all other relevant costs. For enquiries contact Neville Montgomery on 0439 614 464 or a/h 5829 8526

Northerners Soccer Under 7: A fantastic game of soccer against Guthrie St Hawks. All the boys played really well and held the lead most of the game before it ended in a 3-3 draw. Goal scorers were Declan, Finn and Kel. Next week we are up against Kialla West at 12:00p.m.

Under 9: Northerners defeated Grahamvale Victory 5-3. Excellent team effort with every player contributing to the win. Great to see the players finally rewarded for all their hard work, after two narrow losses. Goal scorers were Jordan 2, Kyle 2 and Mitchell 1. Reminder: training this Wednesday night.

Netball Results Under/13 Start of a new draw this week and the girls came away victorious. A win of 17-1 against St Brendan’s Sapphires. We knew all that good work would pay off. Great goaling by Natasha and Keely. Shae, Abby, Sophie and Teagan kept the mid court turning over intercepts and Molly and Zailie held the defence up. Great teamwork girls. Award – Keely McDonald (Kialla West)

Parents’ Club - Pie Drive

Our second major fundraiser for the year is a Pie Drive with Higgins Bakery of Shepparton. A pie drive order form was sent home last week. Money and order forms need to be returned to school by Tuesday, 12th June and delivery will be Thursday 21st June. Pick up will be from the Multi Purpose Room between 12:00 and 4:00, if you cannot pick up your order, please arrange for someone to pick it up for you. Please make cheques out to Tallygaroopna Primary School. Any queries contact Bev Montgomery on 0400 914 464

Northerners Football Results Northerners 3 5 23 defeated Kialla United 3 1 19 for the first win of the season. A hard contest with a very exciting last quarter. Well done boys. Best Daniel Bagley, Jordan Gee, Sam Slavich & Corrie Matthews. Goals Charles Atkinson, Harri Ring & Reece Bartels.

Parents’ Club Expression of Interest The Tallygaroopna Football President has asked if the school would like to cater approximately 60-70 meals one Friday a month. The first of these teas is this Friday, 1st June. Can anyone who can assist please contact the school asap.

Munch & Crunch Parents’ Club will hold a Munch & Crunch lunch on the Thursday, 21st June. The menu will consist of 2 Dim Sims and Fried Rice and a cup of cordial, with a Choc Chip Muffin and Milo served at recess. Cost will be $5. Orders and payment need to be in by Monday, 18th June. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Munch & Crunch – Thursday 21st June Family Name:…………………………………………………………… Number of lunches: ……………………………………… Cost: ……………………………………

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Prep for Parents: Who Said Science Can't Be Fun?

Children are born scientists. They are naturally curious; they look at the world around them and develop their own ideas based on what they see and hear every day.

Wanting to know about where things come from, why things happen, how things are made are a part of your child’s everyday experiences. Your child’s natural curiosity generates lots of questions. No doubt you’ve already fielded questions about why the sun shines, how volcanoes erupt, how plants grow, where stars come from and how the weather works.

The more your child learns about the world around them, the more amazing everything seems. Keeping that sense of amazement, curiosity and discovery is what we want every child – and every adult – to experience throughout their life.

What's happening at school

Encouraging your child to come up with ideas about why things happen, testing these ideas and looking for answers to questions from a variety of sources – experts, teachers, other adults, books or online – is what this first year of school is all about.

And that curiosity is essential when it comes to science.

It also helps your child in many other areas – it gives them skills in observation, problem solving, and independent research. All of these skills go hand in hand with other subjects, like maths, English, art, and helps your child to learn.

At school, your child’s teacher will already be encouraging your child’s curiosity about their world. They will explore a range of everyday things like where the clothes we wear come from, why it rains and the different plants and animals around the school. Using these everyday things, your child’s teacher will encourage your child to ask questions and to come up with possible solutions.

Your child’s teacher will also assist your child to observe, identify and describe things that are similar using things like size, shape, colour and weight. They’ll ask them to sort things into categories.

Your child’s teacher will also explain that things don’t always work out the way we expect them to and that often science generates even more questions than it answers. Conducting simple experiments to test theories also forms part of the learning your child will do in school.

So what more can you do?

Most children embrace science because it’s practical and it’s fun. You don’t need to know a lot about science to help your child discover, explore and expand their imagination.

Here are some tips and activities you can do with your child at home:

The seasons

Science investigates the world around us. With all the autumn leaves lying on the ground, now is a good time to discuss the seasons. Who doesn’t love collecting different coloured leaves or romping through huge piles of leaves scattering them everywhere!

Ask your child to collect different types of leaves and then sort them according to their shape. Are they all the same? What is different? How are they the same? Are they all the same colour? Are they the same size?

While your child is having fun sorting and describing what they’ve found you can explain that we have four seasons during the year – autumn, winter, spring and summer. Talk about the changes that happen during each season – autumn is when deciduous trees loose their leaves, winter is usually cold, summer is warm and when we swim, spring has lots of rain and that’s when flowers grow.

What's alive? What's not?

Science divides the world into living and the non-living things.

Your child may not immediately recognise the difference between a living and a non-living thing. Some characteristics of living things are growth, movement, the need for air, food and water, reproduction. But what about talking and breathing? It might seem they are essential for living things, but are they?

Ask your child questions about the things around them. Are rocks alive? Do pebbles live? What about shells? Pots? Bricks? How about the family pet?

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Reward your child for their collecting efforts. Help them to sort their stash into either category ‘living’ or ‘non-living’. Be warned, your child may come back with insects or even spiders, so depending on your ability to cope with these you may need to give this activity some thought.

Sorting and classifying

Science builds up knowledge of the world by classifying things.

Ask your child to help you sort your groceries into things that are the same colour, size, shape or weight. Make this fun and discuss how things can be described differently depending on the category you choose. Items that are the same weight may have different colours, size and or shape. Items that are the same size may have different shapes or weight.

Ask your child to collect five soft or five hard things from around your home. Encourage them to use all their senses to find these –to see, hear and feel them to work out if they are soft or hard. Once they’ve collected their five things get them to sort them according to size, colour or weight. Talk to them about how the things they collected were in one category – hard or soft – but also belong in other categories like their size or colour or weight. Then help them to stick their objects onto a large card or draw the objects according to how they have ‘classified’ them.

Measuring

Science is based on careful and accurate measurement.

Using things like sand, rice, pebbles, pegs, sugar, water – anything really – ask your child to measure quantities into different shaped containers.

Help them observe how the same amount looks different in a variety of shapes and sizes. This activity goes hand in hand with their developing mathematical skills.

Observation

Science is based on observing things and making guesses about what is happening. This also develops your child’s patience as they’ll have to wait for things to happen – sometimes for a long time.

Ask your child to sit quietly, to look around them, to listen and observe where they are.

You could even conduct a light-hearted competition that your whole family enters, awarding prizes for the most items heard or seen.

You can also contribute your discoveries to the knowledge bank of things in our environment by recording what you’ve found in the Atlas of Living Australia. This allows you to see the plants and animals that are in your area; it also allows you to record your own sightings and this adds to Australia’s bio-diversity knowledge.

Related links

CSIRO’s Do-it-yourself science – Mix some slime, build a rocket, make sultanas dance and more, using everyday equipment from around the house in these exciting experiments and activities from CSIRO's Double Helix Science Club

Kid’s Spot’s Fun Zone Experiments to Do At Home - Science experiments that you can do at home are a fun way of introducing your kids to the world they live in. Wow them with easy science experiments they can learn from.

Scienceworks – virtual visit to Victoria's interactive museum of science and technology

Playschool - The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's playschool is full of games, films and things your child can make and do

ABC Science – ask an expert, kids science, photos, star stuff podcasts and the latest science news

Cool science – sharing the facts and fun about science for all ages

How stuff works – the award-winning source of credible, unbiased, and easy-to-understand explanations of how the world actually works

BBC’s KS2 Bitesize – science activities, tests and notes for primary school children studying living things, materials and physical processes

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Beyond Primary: Choosing The Right School For Your Child

Starting secondary school is one of the biggest steps in your child's life. In Victoria there are a variety of options for your child's secondary education. It is important that you choose the right school to suit your child's needs as all schools are different and offer different programs. For example, a range of Victorian government schools specialise - the Maribyrnong Sports Academy, the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and the John Monash Science School are a few examples of the broad range of options on offer.

Making your choice

An important step is to involve your child in deciding which secondary school they will go to.

Start by developing a list of things that are important to you and your child. The will help in making the decision.

You may also want to consider which schools your child's friends are considering; as well as the public transport options to the school and the length of travel time.

Things to consider

There are many things to take into account. You could use the following questions to create a checklist:

Your child's interest and needs

Will the school cater for your child’s needs and interests?

How does the school support children with additional needs?

How important is it that your child knows other children at the school?

Your family circumstances

Does your family have a connection to a particular school? do you have older children already attending a secondary school? If so, will your child benefit from going to the same school as their brother or sister?

How far do you want your child to travel each day? Are any schools close to home and/or your work suitable for your child?

What extra curricula activities does the school offer?

Does the school offer scholarships?

School philosophy and organisation

Is the school welcoming? – You’ll know this as soon as you walk in the door.

Does the school have both primary and secondary students (a P-12 school)?

How many campuses does the school have? Do students move between campuses?

Do you agree with, or at least like, the way the school approaches teaching their students?

Does the school’s policy on homework and discipline reflect your own values and expectations?

What is the school's approach to dealing with bullying?

Specialisation

What educational programs are offered?

Do they specialise in any particular area? Victoria has a range of government schools that have a particular focus – like the John Monash School (specialising in Maths and Science), the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (performing arts, dance and music) and Maribyrnong Secondary College (Victoria’s first government sports school) – that take students from across the state, though most have select entry requirements. Other schools are also specialising in areas such as robotics, multi-media, fashion, languages, design or horticulture.

What programs does the school offer?

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Partnerships and involvement

Does the school have active partnerships with other organisations within your community?

Does the school have active parent clubs, working groups or fund raising activities?

Visiting the school

Schools welcome enquiries and will organise a time to visit. Principals or other school staff can provide tours, classroom visits and information about their school.

Parents can take advantage of any open days or introductory tours to secondary schools that your child’s primary school offers. Going along to the school and checking out its environment, facilities and staff will give you a gut feeling about how comfortable your child will be there.

Prepare for your visit

Make an appointment to visit the school with your child.

Prepare a list of questions beforehand.

Talk to the teachers. Talk to the principal, if they are available.

Ask other parents about their knowledge of the school.

Where to go for more information

To find schools within your area you could try:

Find an early childhood service or school - lists all the schools in your area and their contact details, including the school’s website address.

My school – search the profiles of almost 10000 Australian schools. You can quickly locate statistical and contextual information about schools

Other resources you could try include:

Non-Government Schools Guide – Search the Schools Guide for a world of information on around 3000 private schools and independent schools throughout Australia

VRQA State Register – allows you to access the school’s annual report

The Victorian Government School Performance Summary gives a clear overview of how government schools are performing in Victoria.

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